American author Kathy Reichs is not only a novelist, but also an anthropologist. This comes in handy writing her Temperance Brennan novels, as Tempe is an anthropologist as well. They also share several of the same personality traits and many of the places that Reichs writes about are places she has been to herself. Kathy also writes the Virals series for young adults.

Kathy Reichs also works as a producer on the television show Bones, which is inspired by Reichs’ own life in addition to her writing. She made her debut in 1997 with the novel Déjà Dead, which was the first book to feature her character Temperance Brennan. Below is a list of Kathy Reichs’ books in order of when they were originally released:

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Publication Order of Temperance Brennan Books

Déjà Dead (1997)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death du Jour (1999)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Deadly Decisions (2000)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Fatal Voyage (2001)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Grave Secrets (2002)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bare Bones (2003)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Monday Mourning (2004)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Cross Bones (2005)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Break No Bones (2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bones to Ashes (2007)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Devil Bones (2008)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
206 Bones (2009)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Spider Bones / Mortal Remains (2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Flash and Bones (2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bones Are Forever (2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bones in Her Pocket (2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bones ofthe Lost (2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Swamp Bones (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bones Never Lie (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Bones on Ice (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Speaking in Bones (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Conspiracy of Bones (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Bone Code (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Cold, Cold Bones (2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Bone Hacker (2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Fire and Bones (2024)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Temperance Brennan Collections

The Bone Collection (2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Tory Brennan (Virals) Books

(with Brendan Reichs)

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of The MatchUp Collection Books

Honor & ... (By: C.J. Box,Sandra Brown) (2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Deserves to Be Dead (By: John Sandford,Lisa Jackson) (2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Getaway (By: Lisa Scottoline,Nelson DeMille) (2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Midnight Flame (By: Christopher Rice,Lara Adrian) (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Short Story (By: Karin Slaughter,Michael Koryta) (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Past Prologue (By: Diana Gabaldon,Steve Berry) (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Faking a Murderer (With: Lee Child) (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Dig Here (By: Charlaine Harris,Andrew Gross) (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Taking the Veil (By: J.A. Jance,Eric Van Lustbader) (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Rambo on Their Minds (By: Gayle Lynds,David Morrell) (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Footloose (By: Val McDermid,Peter James) (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Bones Books

(with Max Allan Collins)

Publication Order of Anthologies

I'd Kill For That(2004)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
No Rest for the Dead(2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Dark Side of Mysteries & Thrillers(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
MatchUp(2017)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Birds of Prey: The Harlan Coben Challenge(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Note: Code is co-authored by Brendan Reichs.

If You Like Kathy Reichs Books, You’ll Love…

Kathy Reichs Synopses: In the first novel of the Temperance Brennan series Deja Dead, Tempe Brennan finds a fresh corpse that has been decapitated. After more murders match the M.O. of this one, Tempe is soon convinced that she has a serial killer on her hands, although the police are not convinced. Without any help from the police department, Tempe does her own detective work in order to find the killer, which now makes her the killer’s target.

Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs is the second book in the Temperance Brennan series. It’s bitterly cold in Montreal and Tempe Brennan is digging for a corpse that’s been buried for more than a hundred years. Although Tempe thrives on the historical enigmas, it’s a chain of contemporary deaths and disappearances that has gained her attention – and she has the opportunity to make a bone-chilling connection between the seemingly unrelated events. At the crime scene, at the morgue, and in the lab, Tempe probes a mystery that sweeps from a deadly Quebec fire to startling discoveries in the Carolinas, and culminates in Montreal with a terrifying confrontation – a nerve-shattering test of not only her forensic expertise but her skills of survival.

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs is the third book in the Temperance Brennan series. Tragedy occurs when nine-year-old Emily Anne Toussaint is fatally shot on a street in Montreal. A North Carolina teenager vanishes from her home, and parts of her skeleton are found hundreds of miles away. The shocking deaths take Tempe Brennan from north to south, and deep into an eye-opening investigation inside the bizarre culture of outlaw biker gangs – where one wrong move could bring tragedy for herself or someone she loves.

Two Nights is a standalone novel by Kathy Reichs. The protagonist is Sunday Night, a woman with physical and psychological scars, and a killer instinct. Sunnie has spent years trying to escape her past, hiding secrets and making a life in which she needs no one and feels nothing. But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs Sunnie’s help. Is the girl dead? Was she taken? If she is out there, why doesn’t she want to be found? It’s time for Sunnie to come face-to-face with her demons, because they just might point her towards the truth about what really happened all those years ago.

Order of Books » Authors » Order of Kathy Reichs Books

16 Responses to “Order of Kathy Reichs Books”

  1. susiepuma: 6 years ago

    I had A Conspiracy of Bones on pre-order from B& N…just got an email it is no longer scheduled for release…..does anyone know why?

    Reply

    • Graeme: 6 years ago

      It has unfortunately been canceled due to health issues Kathy has. She is taking a sabbatical from writing and touring etc for now.

      Reply

  2. carl brookins: 6 years ago

    I just finished a wonderful YA novel, VIRALS. My review will appear soon. I know “Bones” and the aiuithor’s adult novels to a degree. Frankly, the TV series does not give adequate credit to the talent of this wonderful writer.
    I suspect her YA series will also be a hit series. I hope so. And, I might say, if you like this YA series, find Susan Runholt’s series about Kari and Lucas and their adventures in the internationalworld of art.

    Reply

  3. Justbecuz: 6 years ago

    Hi, Graeme! In ” The Bone Collection,” which you mentioned in an earlier post, I see where it contains a total of 4 Novellas. In the synopsis available from my local Library, “First Bones” was listed as a “prequel” to the very first Temperance Brennan Novel, “Deja Dead.” I’ve not, however, been able to ascertain what the chronological order should be for the remaining 3. The titles are, “Bones In Her Pocket,’ ” Swamp Bones” and “Bones On Ice.” As an avid reader, I ALWAYS adhere to the chronological reading order for any Series, whenever possible. Is there any way you might be able to help me with this? Thank you for any advice you can offer. As an aside, you ALL there at Order Of Books do an AMAZING job and I, for one, would be lost without you! Take Care and Happy Reading! “Justbecuz”

    Reply

    • Graeme: 6 years ago

      First Bones is a prequel as you mentioned.

      Bones in Her Pocket takes place before Bones of the Lost.

      Swamp Bones is before Bones Never Lie.

      And Bones on Ice is before Speaking in Bones.

      I believe all that is correct 🙂 Thanks for the kind words.

      Reply

      • Justbecuz: 6 years ago

        Graeme, Thank you so very much for your quick(!) response and for untangling this for me! I even tried to puzzle this out from the author’s website myself and left still scratching my head… My apologies for my previous post being somewhat lengthy. Seems I apparently “type” the same way I “talk”…as in, way too much! 🙂 Again, my thanks. Take Care, “Just”

        Reply

  4. artios48: 7 years ago

    Among the “also read” authors should be Jefferson Bass, Based on cases by Dr Bill Bass of UTenn.

    Reply

  5. Patp: 8 years ago

    Any idea when the next Temperance Brennan book will be published?

    Reply

    • Graeme: 8 years ago

      Haven’t heard anything about a new one yet. There is a new collection book coming out though called the “Bone Collection”.

      Reply

  6. Beartooth Bronsky: 8 years ago

    It’s always interesting to compare the characters and settings in the book series with the television series. Except for the fact that Tempe is a forensic anthropologist, they are entirely different. Different locales, different personalities, different plots, different everything.

    Charlaine Harris has done the same thing with her Sookie Stackhouse books and her True Blood series, though the local and some main characters are (somewhat altered) in both.

    Reply

  7. linda stone: 9 years ago

    is bones on ice a Kathy R book or is it the diff title for one of the others

    Reply

  8. bernice mclemore: 9 years ago

    I can’t believe we had to wait until book 6 before she slept with Ryan

    Reply

  9. Buffie Biddle: 9 years ago

    Love her! She is absolutely wonderful. The science is fascinating and well explained without being condescending. The stories are fun to read and intelligently written. The sidebar historical nuggets are intriguing and wonderful educational. And of course there is Tempe, wonderful sense of humor and great personality. As a woman and artist who loves science and intelligent people she is someone that I would love to hang out with and converse and laugh with for hours. Definitely someone that I would hang out with. She is not only intelligent but exceptionally empathetic as well (which many of her fellow mystery female heroines are not). And a huge part of the stories come from Reich’s own personal experience, so she is not just making something up or using information that she got second hand but is actually in many cases, giving us real information.Super fun, very interesting and great stories. Keep them coming Kathy.

    Reply

  10. Jan solomon: 9 years ago

    I have only just begun to read Kathy. I became addicted, rather quickly, to the Bones television series. Tnt having run 4 episodes a day 5 days a week. (Other shows had me missing the series before). I’m an avid reader, and decided I couldn’t wait to read the books my favorite show was based off of. I

    Reply

  11. lizbeth: 11 years ago

    Absorbing plots and interesting details. After reading a few of her later books, I read her earliest ones. She really matured as a writer. I’m glad she found her sassiness.

    Reply

  12. Debtak: 11 years ago

    While her plots are interesting, this author does not possess the writing talent to make me look forward to the next installment. Airport reads at best.

    Reply

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